17 DECEMBER 1853, Page 13

SCOTCH NATIONAL EDUCATION.

AMONG the many interests contingent upon the trade in corn, we do not remember that any Protectionist instanced the remunera- tion for Scotch schoolmasters under the Kirk-sessions ; yet one of the effects of "recent legislation" is to bring about a reduction of the emoluments of the schoolmaster. The parish schoolmasters of Scotland are paid in a peculiar way. They have fees, and they have a house ; but the staple- of their remuneration is a stipend calculated upon the price of a certain measure of corn. The calcu- lation is made upon an average of a previous twenty-five years, and it lasts for twenty-five years. One of these periods is about to expire in 1854. A fresh average will have to be calculated upon the twenty-five years then expiring ; and the new average will last till 1879. The minimum salary at present is a little more than 251. 13s. a year ; the maximum, a little more than 34/. 4s. : there will be reduced to 19/. 148. and 26/. 68. Lord John Russell holds that the principal means of raising education is to raise the status of the schoolmaster ; but in this country the: status of the man depends chiefly upon the status of his purse, and if the schoolmaster at 25/. or 35/. is of slight account, one at 20/. or 26/ will be held still cheaper. It is necessary, therefore, to raise the emoluments and fees. It is proposed to do so by an act to amend the act of the 43d George III., increasing the mut_ sure of corn by fifty per cent, and practically raising the maxi mum salary to about 391. fis. " TWA looks a very small affair—only a question of wages for mbhoolmksters ; but upon it has been grafted the project of a new noliente of ,education. The opportunity afforded in thus improv- ing 'salaries was thought available also for improving the system; and, no.'doubt, the state of sects in Scotland has contributed to set, that idea working, to say nothing of the general tendency to illiprove education.

1There are three plans ; none of them very systematically ad- vanced. One is countenanced by what we may call the Orthodox Presbyterians, who adhere to the Established Church ; and it con- sists simply in improving the present plan, especially in the in- crease of payment for schoolmasters, with better lodging, more schools, and a new plan of pecuniary assistance from the Privy Council.

But since the schools were established and appropriated for the influence of the Established Church in Scotland, the relations of that Church to the population have materially changed. Inde- pendently of other seceding bodies, there are now two great " churches " which rival the Established Church in importance— the Free Church, and the older Secession; and these claim a share in the management at present monopolized by the Established Kirk-sessions. The proposition in the second plan is to have Local Boards, which should be appointed by the recognized Presbyterian sects.

The third plan goes still further—it is, to separate secular in- struction from religious instruction, according to the National system of Ireland: and this idea is not only started by the advo- cates of secular education generally, but also by the Episcopalians in Scotland, who think themselves unjustly excluded in a plan which monopolizes the management of education for Presbyterians alone. On the other hand, several members of the Established Church favour the second system. Calculations have been put forth as to the division of opinion upon the subject, especially in the votes which are likely to be given in Parliament; and it is reckoned that a very large proportion would be in favour of secu- lar education. We cannot say we have so strong a faith on this head ; nor should we like to risk any corrective calculation. Presbyterian influences are strong in Scotland. A man scarcely dares take a walk, or look at a newspaper, without some deference to the influence of the minister who sits over him. There is another reason too why the second plan is likely to exercise a pre- ponderating influence—it is understood to have the countenance of her Majesty's Ministers, indicated by the favour shown amongst official people in Scotland. There may be reasons for anticipating Ministerial favour.

The project appears as a "middle course between the two ex- tremes," of established exclusion and broad secularization. In truth it is not a middle course—it is a separate course, carrying to its farthest extent Presbyterian control over instruction ; but it looks like a middle course, and is so far suited to the official tenden- cies of the day. It proportionately resembles the scheme which Ministers are said to favour in England, which would place edu- cation under the care of all sects, and so secure a due inculcation of "all religions and ceremonies," along with reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the elements of practical instruction. The Man- chester and Salford plan, which originates this English view of the matter, has not been tried, and is not put forward by any real ma- jority in the country ; but there is a large acquiescent majority, willing to accept the dictation of Inhalators in both senses of the word" ministers "; and thus there does appear to be a danger that education will be conducted by a conspiracy of sects according to an untried plan, instead of being intrusted to a plan which has upon the whole succeeded so well as that of National Education in Ire- land. There are some reasons for leaving Presbyterianism to control Scotland ; and if the system of Local Boards should be established there, perhaps the worst result will be its furnishing an example for England. The Local Boards are likely to be centres of theo- logical squabbling ; but that mischievous result will not show with sufficient promptitude to influence the legislation of 1854. In order to do that, Members who are already elected in Parliament should examine the subject for themselves ; and if they judge by the balance of real experience, we have no doubt as to the course which their selection will take.